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Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Pitchers Praise Molina, Yanks Bench Him

I was actually feeling sorry for Jorge Posada lately. First Andy Pettitte praised Jose Molina to the high heavens. Then Mike Mussina actually said Jose was the best catcher HE HAD EVER WORKED WITH. EVER. I don't need to point out that those are the two winningest Yankee pitchers this season. I also don't need to point out that our pitching has been a strong suit, despite the fact that three of our starters on opening day are injured. And who has been the primary catcher guiding all those pitchers this season? Jose Molina. Who have our two top pitchers given their stamp of approval to? Jose Molina. Who has worked with the bullpen that has been far better than expected? Jose Molina. But he doesn't bat .325 and he'll never be an All Star so in the moronic minds of the Yankees front office, that means we have a WEAKNESS at our catching position.

7 comments:

Molina will still play, but he has never been an everyday player and he has taken a TON of abuse this year. My guess is he still starts 2 out of every 5 games - maybe when Moose and Andy pitch - and this should keep him fresh down the stretch while also improving the team's offense. And don't forget, Pudge is no slouch defensively either. They just couldn't take the chance that Molina goes down and Moeller is the starter for the rest of the year. I like the deal, especially since Pudge is in the last year of his contract so we should get some sort of draft pick compensation when he signs elsewhere next year.

But he's a CHEATER. He broke the law, cheated himself and his teammates and the game of baseball to get ahead. Remember the spring training after te steroids scandal broke? Pudge showed up lookng about half the size he was the previous season and insisted he had gone on a "diet." It was so ludicrous, everyone laughed. And now we've brought that cheater onto our team. Everyone is innocent until proven guilty -- no one is throwing im into jail. But given he circumstantial evidence, why would you actively recruit a cheater? because we might win? What's winning if you have to do it with triple the salary of most teams and fill your ranks with a bunch of cheats? Where's the fun in that?

A. No fair persecuting just the known cheats. That lets the unknown cheats off the hook.

B. Just because he cheated in the past does not mean he is still a cheater. Looking at him now he is clearly off the juice. So I would say he is no longer a cheater.

In a perfect world the Yankees would build an uber team full of home grown youngsters who have never been touched by scandal, say and do all the right things, and play the game the right way. But this is not a perfect world...so we need to make the best out of the talent available.

He's not "touched" by cheating. He's a cheater who gamed the system for years. I don't care if he's too afraid of getting caught that he's not cheating anymore, I still don't want someone who would cheat on my team. And no, you don't have to accept that -- your World Series ring is meaningless if you achieve it with a bunch of cheaters. Did you want Giambi off the team when we found out he'd been a cheater? Were you upset that the Yankees KNOWINGLY brought an active steroid abuser onto the team? (He insisted they remove the steroids clause from his contract so he could't be fired for cheating with steroids) If not, then you don't care if you cheat as long as you win. That's not my idea of a fun way to play a game.

I can forgive someone cheating -- but they have to make a full and honest confession and PAY A PRICE. How many games, how many innings have known cheaters like Pettitte and Giambi been forced to sit out? None. How much of the money they stole under false pretenses have they been forced to give back? None. How many times did they come forward of their own volition and admit their wrongdoing? None. (They were caught; that's all. None of them "manned up" and confessed.)